Dear Future President,

I am writing this letter because of an issue I care greatly about. I believe we need some sort of national law to keep the LGBT community safe from hate crimes for their sexuality/gender expression. Suicide is the leading case of death in LGBT youth with 30% of attempts being from teens near the age of 15.

The main cause of this discrimination is ignorance. People fear the community because their "lifestyle choices" are seen as immoral and unnatural. Many religious groups see homosexuality as a sin because of the lack of reproduction possible- despite the thousands of kids adopted by gay couples ( an estimated 22,000 kids being raised by 16,000 gay families). Awful names such as "perverts" and "peadophiles" have been associated with the community to strike fear in the public's eye.

This discrimination effects said person's mental and sometimes physical health. It can also affect said person's friends or family if they fall victim to a hate crime. If said person gets kicked out of their house and has an immediate family living with them, that's 3+ more people added to the national number of homeless people-which is also a serious issue that needs resolved.

There are multiple views in the main 3 parties. The main 3 parties are; pro LGBT, anti LGBT, and neutral. The main view in pro LGBT is that they deserve equal rights and, should be treated as heterosexual people are. The main view in anti LGBT is that it is a sin and they chose this "lifestyle", so they can deal with the hate that comes with it. The main view in neutral is that LGBT people are already treated equally and, all this fight for rights is unnecessary.

I believe there are a few things that can be done. One is to make health class include sexuality, and gender expression. This will make LGBT seem less dangerous and make bullying in schools less likely to happen. It will also help LGBT youth stay safe, as information on the internet cannot always be true. Another way is to make LGBt exclusive restrooms. Yes, family bathrooms exist, but that can still make LGBT youth feel uncomfortable in their own bodies. For example, a young trans man may want to be able to go to a cis-male restroom and not fear being harassed.

All in all, I think we have made a lot of progress, but we can be better as a nation to accept this rapidly growing group of people. If we do not try to push this progression forward, it will either stay how it is, go very slowly forward, or start regressing back to when LGBT was illegal. How can we stand together as a nation if we are at a constant war with each other?

Sincerely, Shaleih Cox